I know, I know. It’s only been a couple of weeks since we got back from this year’s Augustine expedition and we still have a lot to do before the film is completed. (Shooting for next spring, by the way. More details to come, I’m sure.)

But if you’re not looking forward you’re falling behind and that’s not how we like it here at the Ikkatsu Project. We started working today toward the realization of the next major undertaking – also scheduled to begin next spring – of building a kayak out of plastic bottles and paddling it the length of Puget Sound, from Olympia to Bellingham. We’ll be coordinating with beach cleanup efforts along the route and working with local high school students on projects related to marine debris including microplastic data collection and the study of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP) that are a major concern for fish and waterfowl. The itinerary is being put together now, along with the events we’ll be participating in as we go…

Our first expedition was a snapshot of the roadless Olympic Coast and the second took us to the wilds of Alaska, and the northern reaches of the North Pacific Gyre. We’ve learned a lot about plastics in the marine environment and some of the hazards that they represent for our planet. With this next project (we’re calling it Message in a Plastic Bottle), we hope to bring the issue of plastic pollution home to the place where we live, to our friends and neighbors in western Washington. It’s going to be an exciting journey and we hope to bring as many people as possible along for the ride.